January 2015 Classics Courses

The Classics Department offers a wide variety of courses through which learners can explore the Greco-Roman world. Courses are divided into three groupings: Classics in English (CLAS), Classics in Latin (LATN), and Classics in Greek (GREK). To see the course descriptions of current offerings, scroll down.

Classics in English (CLAS)

CLAS/FLET 202 — Greek and Roman Tragedy

MTWRF 11:10–1:10 — Natoli

In this course, students will read selections from Greek and Roman tragedy in translation. Although the majority of the class will be spent on the Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the Latin works of Seneca the Younger will be considered as well. By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Identify and Explain the significance of the historical context of Greek and Roman tragedy;

Identify and Outline the generic conventions and development of Greek and Roman tragedy;

Identify the performance context of Greek and Roman tragedy and Evaluate its effects;

Identify the major themes of Greek and Roman tragedy and Analyze their development in individual plays.

Class time will be devoted to two actions. First is the regular class discussions of the textual and literary issues of Greek and Roman tragedy. These discussions will be rooted in learner responses to assigned readings and will form the backbone of the course. Secondly, there will also be short lectures (>30 minutes) for the purpose of providing background information, clarifying difficult homework assignments, and pushing the class discussions further. Learners should expect homework assignments for each class meeting. Final grades will be determined by critical reflections, weekly quizzes, and a group project. Three hours.

CLAS/ARTH 214 — Bronze and Iron Age Europe (Travel to Sicily!)

January 5–January 30 — Fisher & Camp

This course covers the art and archaeology of the Neolithic through Iron Age cultures in Europe, with special emphasis on the Celts, Villanovans, and Etruscans. Also included is a survey of European and Asian cultures in contact with Bronze and Iron Age Europe, including the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans. We will end with a brief look at the later European Iron Age, particularly the Vikings of northern Europe. Three hours.

HONR 263 — Lysistrata in La–La Land

MTWRF 1:20–4:00 — McCaffery

The plays of Aristophanes are the oldest comic dramas in existence today. All other comic dramas are, in some sense, descendants of these plays. This course will study both Aristophanes' plays and American film comedies which most clearly maintain the Aristophanic traditions. We will read all the plays of Aristophanes in English translation to learn the form, techniques and conventions of Athenian Old Comedy. We will view modern productions of many of the plays, to see how they can be adapted to the modern theater. We will also study a series of modern film comedies to see their indebtedness to Aristophanes. Among topics to be considered will be fantasy, radical freedom of speech, song, dance, political commentary and invective. This course will not be open to students who have taken FLET 203 Ancient Comedy. Partially fulfills the Area of Knowledge requirement in arts and literature (literature) and counts on the major or minor in Classics and the Film Minor. Four hours.